Business Marketing

In order to remain in business and achieving increasing competitiveness it is imperative for the managers of any enterprise to become abreast with the dynamism that facilitates the changing trends in their specific industry. To do this, managers should initiate a systematic collection, recording and analysis of data and information pertaining to their competitors, customers and the general market situation (Bradley 2007). This process is termed marketing research and it provides the foundational basis of the entire marketing process of any successful enterprise. In studying the most conventional marketing trends Kotler & Armstrong (2007) lay claim to the fact that the marketing principles used today cannot guarantee optimum performance in the near future.
Discussing Marketing Research
I begin this section by referring to the comment made by Mario in the DiVito’s Italian Bakery saga. Without any doubt Mario was explicitly calling for the adoption of a comprehensive marketing research to achieve the business goals of their enterprise. For the purposes of precision, it should be noted that marketing research can be said to be either of a primary or secondary approach depending on the research tools and methodology used to carry out the research process (Bradley 2007).
Secondary marketing research involves the acquisition and use of data and information compiled from an external source. In most cases the reasons for adopting this research method is obviously because it’s relatively cheaper and above all, such information is somewhat applicable or similar to an existing product of that enterprise or a future product of the firm in question. Its disadvantages include among other things, the use of biased data, lack of research specification and most notably the difficulty in validating the research findings. Questions such as seeking to know if the measurement captures what is intended to be measured are brought to the fore.
In the case of primary marketing research, the researcher asks critical questions that will enable the enterprise to remain focused. Below is an illustration of typical questions to be asked in carrying out a marketing research using the primary method:
1. What is happening in the market? 2. Who are the competitors? 3. What is the perception of consumers of a given product on the market? 4. What needs are available and whether the needs are being met?
In a milestone study, Marder (1997) presents marketing research under two main categories of depending on what the purpose the research intends to serve. Primarily a researcher may be engaged in what he calls a “problem-solving” research of a “problem-solving” research. A main practice among marketing researchers is exploring a given problem in order to familiarize themselves with the contending issues at the preliminary stage and further providing the basis for reaching conclusive points in the decision

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